Sunshine Matters

This week in Louisville, the U.S. Travel Association held its annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference.  During the event, the winners of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) 2014 Mercury Awards were announced.  I am very proud to share that VISIT FLORIDA won the Mercury Award in the Public Relations Campaign category for our Google Street View Trekker project, as well as the new Judges Choice award. Continue reading »

Now in its 47th year, the annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism is coming up September 22-24. In less than four weeks at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, attendees can count on being inspired, engaged, energized and educated by some of the industry’s top thinkers – and receive business insights that lead to big ideas.  Here’s what some of this year’s speakers will be talking about: Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA’s Meetings team has recently launched two new publications – the Florida Meetings magazine and Florida Meetings eNewsletter – that provide ideas, inspiration and resources for hosting vibrant Florida meetings and events.  The focus with these products is to give meeting professionals the assistance they need to ensure attendees have a memorable stay and an exciting experience, while highlighting the unique reasons to host their meetings and events in the Sunshine State. Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that during today’s Cabinet meeting, Governor Rick Scott announced that according to our preliminary estimates* 24.0 million visitors came to Florida in the second quarter of 2014 (April-June), an increase of 3.0 percent over the same period in 2013.  This represents the largest second quarter for visitation Florida has ever experienced, exceeding the previous high of 23.3 million in Q2 2013.  Visitor spending is up 7.4 percent for January through May 2014, over the same time period in 2013, at $35.7 billion. Continue reading »

This summer, VISIT FLORIDA’s Executive Team is taking our show on the road.  As part of our five-week, seven-city Partner Roadshows, we’ll be hosting events for our industry Partners that provide updates on the latest VISIT FLORIDA marketing programs and partnership benefits. Continue reading »